“You’re fucking unbelievable.” He was so close now, I could smell the cinnamon on his breath, feel the heat of his rage. “I know I got on your nerves, but all I ever did was try to help you. What I told you yesterday was . . .”
He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, beating back the pain that flashed for just a moment across the stormy pools of gray.
“You keep saying you want me to leave you alone—fine. We’re done. You’re on your own, Donna. If you end up dead in a ditch, I no longer give a shit. I’m done with you, you spiteful bitch.”
He took a few steps backward, balled the piece of paper in his hands, and threw it before turning around and storming out. The ball of paper hit me in the chest and bounced to the ground harmlessly, but I flinched so hard. My whole body stiffened with the impact—of his words, his rage, his hurt, all directed at me. And I knew I deserved it. I wasn’t responsible for the posters, but that pain in his face—that was my fault.
Tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I forced them back. There was no way in hell I was going to let myself fall apart in front of all these people.
More and more students were arriving every minute, most of them now throwing me confused, curious looks. Mena rushed back from the office, but several teachers had appeared already, tearing the rest of the posters down while trying in vain to keep the students calm.
The girls surrounded me, all looking worried.
“Donna, what’s going on?” Amaya kept her voice low, her arms crossed.
I looked around at the chaos once more. I couldn’t stand there and talk to them. I needed to do something.
Drew was standing a few feet away. One hand rested on his hip while the other rubbed the back of his neck as he took it all in. But unlike everyone else, there was something more in his eyes—fear.
I narrowed my gaze on him.
“Donna?” Harlow asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
But I shrugged her off and marched right up to Drew.
He startled when he spotted the murderous look on my face. “Hey, D.”
“Cut the bullshit, Drew.” I got in his face. “Start talking.”
“I . . . I’m . . .” He backed away, his eyes flying about the hall, unable to meet mine.
I shoved him, and even though he was practically twice my size and mostly muscle, he let himself stagger back a step. “Who did it?”
He sighed and leaned in. “It was Will. He—”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I had a name. I turned around and stormed toward the front entrance.
“Donna, wait! I have to tell you . . .” Drew called after me, but I ignored him and just kept going.
The girls fell into step beside me, but I didn’t want to drag them into this. I didn’t want them to find things out about me I wasn’t ready for them to know.
“Amaya, I need to know who else knew about this and why I didn’t.” I glanced at her. She looked determined, ready to stand by me regardless of the fact she had no idea what this was about. They all had that same look.
She nodded and turned back around.
“Can you two find out how the faculty didn’t notice this before students started arriving? And any other info you can get.”
Harlow looked hesitant, but Mena pulled her away, heading back to the office.
I jogged down the ornate front stairs and rushed toward the back of the parking lot. Will parked in the back because he was always too late to get a better spot, and because it made it easier to do the other things that made him consistently late to class.
I pulled the door to his Bentley open, not even remotely surprised to see his pants down and Nicola leaning over the center console, giving him a blow job.
They both startled at my sudden appearance. Nicola flinched back against the opposite door, while Will was slower to react, tucking his dick back into his pants as he sighed. “Donna, what the fuck?”
“We need to talk,” I snarled. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to hit him, punch him, kick him while I screamed all my frustration out. But that wasn’t how my parents had raised me. That wasn’t who I was.
Nicola scrambled out of the car and straightened her clothes, eyeing me with fear. “I’m sorry, Donna. I know you and Will . . . but you’re not technically together, and I . . . just please—”
“Shut up.” God, she was irritating. I opened the back door and threw her school bag onto the path in front of the car. “I don’t give a flying fuck whose dick you wrap those Botox-filled lips around. Get lost.”
Her eyes narrowed in anger, and she scooped her bag up and stalked away, muttering “bitch” as she went.
Will got out and fixed his tie. “Was that really necessary?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked.
He looked at me as if I were an idiot.
“I know you’re responsible for Fulton Academy’s new décor.” I let the sarcasm drip from my lips. “And I want to know why.”
He eyed me for a second, the disinterested expression melting away into something more calculating. “You really are spreading your legs for that thug,” he said, and my stomach plummeted. “I didn’t quite believe it when Drew mentioned what he’d seen, but, shit, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this worked up.”
Unbelievable. That arrogant, spoiled, useless piece of . . .
I slapped him. The feelings welling up inside me—ugly, awful, frightening feelings—couldn’t be contained any longer, and the next thing I knew, Will’s head was turned to the side, and my hand was stinging from the impact.
I curled it into a fist and dug my nails into my palm, using the pain to keep me grounded.
Will fixed me with a blank look, not even reaching up to hold his cheek. “You think you can hurt me?” He chuckled. “You’re just a little girl, playing princesses and castles while there’s a whole big, dangerous world all around you. Nothing you do can hurt me, Donna.”
“You’re jealous I fucked another guy, so you’re going to ruin his life? How petty, William, especially considering your mediocre cock is still slick with Nicola’s saliva.”
“I don’t have time for this.” He swung his bag over his shoulder and slammed the car door shut.
“Don’t you fucking walk away from me.” I got in his path.
He looked at me as if I was boring him, absolutely no emotion on his face. Will was not at all what I always thought him to be. He was cruel and cold and empty. I couldn’t believe I’d considered a future with him.
“Do yourself a favor and stay out of this, D. Now, unless you want to finish what Nicola started, get out of my way.”
He didn’t wait for a response—just shoved past me and sauntered off toward school.
What an absolute piece of shit of a human being. And he’d set his sights on Hendrix because of me.
A sob clawed its way up my throat, but I swallowed it, forced my eyes to remain wide open until they felt raw—until I was certain I wouldn’t cry. Not yet.
The bell rang, and it was almost a relief to have something functioning the way it was supposed to. My world was crumbling around me, and I held the sledgehammer in my hands, but the bell tolled anyway.
I had no idea what to do next, how to fix it. So I pulled a calm, detached expression over my face, smoothed my uniform, and walked steadily back to school.